2015 York County High School
PSA Contest for
Children’s Mental Health Awareness
Sponsoring Partners: York County System of Care, Communities That Care &
Safe School/Healthy Students
All students submitting entries for the PSA contest MUST follow the rules below or their entry will not
be accepted. There are no exceptions.
Rules for Submission:
1. High school students must have faculty mentor to supervise PSAs, such as teachers, SAP coordinators, guidance
counselors, school nurses, or administrators. High school-aged youth who are in non-traditional educational
environments, or local youth groups, may also submit, provided they have similar mentorship.
2. Each high school may only submit one entry per category (2 video, 1 audio). If you have multiple entries per
category, have the students, teachers, and/or school choose one to submit for each category. Any school who
submits more than one entry in a given category will have all submissions in that category excluded from the
contest. Total entries accepted: one - 30 sec. PSA; one - 60 sec. PSA; one - 30 sec. Audio.
3. General Messaging Guidelines – The Contest theme is: “You Don’t Know Me…This Is Me.”
4. Please note, your entry can focus on youth mental illness, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, or suicide
prevention.
5. Your PSA does not need to focus specifically on suicide prevention; however, if it does it is critical for you to
please follow the guidelines below.
a. Please refer to the following websites for guidelines on effective and safe messaging:
i. All entries must follow media guidelines for suicide www.reportingonsuicide.org
ii. The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention has compiled a comprehensive and
interactive site to guide you towards safe messaging. Please review:
http://suicidepreventionmessaging.actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/safety and
iii. http://suicidepreventionmessaging.actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/narrative
iv. There are websites we recommend as a resource. To preview the new warning signs, please go
to: http://payspi.org/youth. If your messaging will also focus on how to respond, we encourage
you to check on http://payspi.org/youthrespond on how youth should respond and
http://payspi.org/gatekeepersrespond on how adults will be asked to respond.
v. When referring to suicide, the term should be “death by” or “die(d)” by suicide, not “commit”.
b. It is okay to talk about feelings, and it’s ok to use the word suicide, HOWEVER:
i. Do not display any images/video, etc., that explicitly show self-harm behaviors (for example, no
guns, knives, etc., or illusions to such.) Entries showing youth engaging in suicidal behavior (for
example, swallowing pills) will be excluded.
ii. No explicit discussion of specific suicidal behaviors will be accepted.
6. Content of Messaging
a. We are requesting entries focus on 1) youth mental health issues (such as substance abuse, depression,
anxiety or suicide prevention) 2) their warning signs and 3) help-seeking behavior.
The PSAs should provide messages of HOPE. So, be sure to refer youth who are struggling to resources
that can help such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number [1-800-273-TALK(8255)], or
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website or Wellspan Behavioral Health at 717-851-5320 or
encourage viewers/listeners to tell a family member or friend.
(Please note, the national suicide prevention number rings locally based on where the call originates.)
b. To view examples of other PSAs go to http://vimeo.com/album/2764477.
7. Video/Audio Submissions
a. Entries should be of high audio and/or high-definition video quality so that they may be broadcasted on
TV or radio. Applicants may wish to check local TV or radio stations for guidelines. Please be sure that
your final submission is in mp4 (video) or mp3 (audio) format.
b. Please follow all copyright rules regarding music and images.
c. Do not include school and/or student’s names in the video and audio
d. Submissions should be exactly 30 or 60 seconds in length, depending on the submission category. DO
NOT have any introductory images, such as the name of the video, or concluding credits at the end of
the video. If you wish to submit a second version including this information with your entry, you may do
so, but please note which file is the final submission.
8. All submissions should follow the same file naming format: LastName(category).file-type. For example,
Smith(30-sec video).mp4.
9. You may submit your materials through Dropbox. For instructions on doing so, please email Colleen Igo at
[email protected]
10. You MUST adhere to these submission rules and requests. If any of the above criteria are not met, we will not be
able to accept your submission.
11. All submissions must be received by Monday, April 13, 2015 to be considered for the contest.
11. There will be $5,000 in prizes awarded to the winning entries. Winning PSAs will also be aired on local media.
Entry Type
30-second Video PSA:
60-second Video PSA:
30-second Audio PSA
1st Place Prize Amount
$1,500
$1,500
$750
2nd Place Prize Amount
$500
$500
$250
Thank you and good luck!
Sponsoring Partners:
Media Partner:
Go to www.ychsd.org for additional details or
contact Colleen Igo at [email protected].